整个夏天, Joe 辛克莱 (left) worked with Andrew O’Donohue at the 博克斯LaunchBox on refining his Mantis 3D printer.
读书,爸爸. -赌博平台大全校友乔·辛克莱, 近10年前购买了他的第一台3D打印机，这是一个改变他一生的时刻.
辛克莱，25岁，你可以很容易地称他为“先生”. 3 d打印机,他刚刚创办了自己的第三家公司——Verde Mantis, 有限责任公司, the first local company focused on bringing 3 d打印技术 or additive manufacturing to the masses with its latest product, 3D螳螂打印机. 这家新公司来自十大正规赌博平台大全的博克斯LaunchBox, 位于雷丁市中心的艺术中心.
There’s perhaps no better example of Invent Penn State’s commonwealth-wide initiative to spur economic development, 创造就业机会和学生的职业成功.
As an early member of the 博克斯LaunchBox initiative and with the help of 宾州州立银行 staff members, 辛克莱 has been able to invite local students to participate in the design and fabrication process of the Mantis 3D printer.
拥有两个工程学士学位, 多家3d打印初创公司, 宾州州立大学的3D打印硕士学位, and a full-time director position for a high-tech advanced manufacturing company’s metal additive manufacturing division, 辛克莱说，他已经投入了数千小时学习, 使用, 以及研究改进3D打印机的方法.
关于螳螂3D打印机的创建, 辛克莱说, “Years of working alongside 3D printers in manufacturing environments allowed us to understand the hurdles that prevent less technical folks from being able to utilize this groundbreaking technology. Imagine how making 3 d打印技术 easy and intuitive would democratize a technology that can change the world.”
辛克莱 explains that 3 d打印技术 faces two key hurdles: the extensive skill set required to operate 3D printers effectively and the general lack of standardization across the industry.
“我们还处于早期阶段，没有足够明确的标准，”辛克莱说. “We need to better educate potential users about the benefits of 3 d打印技术 relative to traditional manufacturing practices such as forging or casting. Extensive research and involvement by the science and engineering community are still required to unlock all the benefits of 3 d打印技术 and further understand limitations.
利用这种理解, 我们设计并建造了螳螂, 世界上最容易使用的3D打印机. The Mantis makes manufacturing as simple as just pressing print; this enables students and professionals to embrace their creativity in an expedited and intuitive manner. It allows people to focus on design and creativity and not how the machine works,” he explained.
“3D打印的学习曲线非常长，”他补充说. “螳螂通过自动化打破了这个概念. 另一个好处是, the Mantis allows users to more easily access millions of copyright-free printable designs that are readily available on the Internet for download.”
螳螂是一个支持Wi-Fi的立方体, 涂上了和发明者最喜欢的兰博基尼一样的绿色粉末, 这也是公司名称的灵感来源.
螳螂是一个支持Wi-Fi的16英寸x 16英寸x 16英寸立方体, 由激光切割的金属板制成, 用铆钉钉在一起的, 并涂上了与发明者最喜欢的兰博基尼汽车颜色相同的绿色粉末, 这也是公司名称的灵感来源. The majority of brackets and hinges that make up the Mantis 3D printer are actually produced by other Mantis printers in a self-replicating fashion. 每只螳螂使用1.75mm聚乳酸(PLA)长丝生产组件. PLA is a safe and an environmentally friendly bioplastic made from renewable, natural resources.
辛克莱还自豪地说，螳螂是在美国设计和建造的.
“从激光切割的金属板, 每个单独的铆钉, 螳螂体现了美国制造业的激情和精神,辛克莱说. 同样的道理, it is no mistake we’ve decided to set up shop here: 阅读’s rich manufacturing legacy is a worthy foundation from which the Mantis can grow and prosper. 在宾州州立大学Berks发射箱的帮助下, we’ve created a product that the 阅读 community can rally around to continue making manufacturing history.”
辛克莱, 米夫林州长高中的毕业生, 他补充说，随着螳螂3D打印机的销售, Verde Mantis intends to grow its operations in the Greater 阅读 area in order to boost local manufacturing by students, 艺术家和专业人士都一样.
第一个在博克斯LaunchBox与辛克莱合作的学生是Andrew O’donohue, 19, 弗利特伍德, 他刚回到切斯特的怀德纳大学, 宾西法尼亚, 他是哪里的机械工程专业的. 2015年，两人在赌博平台大全的一次创业会议上相识.
辛克莱说 O’Donohue’s engineering knowledge, especially regarding robotics, was a perfect fit.
“He [O'Donohue] has a firm understanding of the mechanical nature of robots and has done much to help improve the Mantis, 包括他对打印机热端组件的二十多次升级,辛克莱说. “他是佛得角螳螂的宝贵财富，我们希望继续合作.”
O 'Donohue已经在SkillsUSA拥有丰富的经验, 学生的伙伴关系, 教师和企业共同努力教育美国的劳动力. O'Donohue曾在Berks Career工作 & 并参加了区内的机电一体化竞赛, 州级和国家级, 2018年获全国一等奖.
“这对我来说是非常好的第一次体验，”O 'Donohue说. “I really enjoy CAD modeling and I have been able to expand my knowledge with Joe as CAD relates to 3 d打印技术. 我想进入工业维护，看看机器应该如何设计, 然后投入研发，寻找自动化的方法. 我在佛得角螳螂的经历会是一个很好的基础.”
像•多诺休, 辛克莱 has impressive millennial credentials; in fact, he is the first graduate of the 增材制造与设计工程硕士 (AMD) program offered through the Penn State World Campus.
辛克莱 graduated from 阅读 Area Community College in 2013 with an associate’s degree and Penn State in 2015 with undergraduate degrees in both mechanical engineering at 宾州州立银行 and 核工程 at 十大正规赌博平台大全 Park, 同时在两个校区完成学业. 与此同时，他成功地创立了自己的3d打印公司, 固体力学有限公司, 开始于Joe的快速原型.
他第一次接触3D打印机是在学院的弗莱明创意课上, 创业, 经济发展中心, 这激发了他的兴趣. 在他父母的帮助下, 辛克莱 bought his first 3D printer while a student at 宾州州立银行 in hopes of learning how to make physical prototypes of the models designed in his engineering courses.
“经过几百小时的故障排除和学习使用3D打印机, 我想我可以为我的工程系同学制作模型的原型，并收取适当的费用. After successfully operating three 3D printers in my dorm room at 十大正规赌博平台大全 Park campus, 似乎是时候创建一家正式公司了. In 2014, 我创办了固体力学,辛克莱说, 两家公司的CEO都是谁, 这两家公司在宾夕法尼亚州都有业务.
When 辛克莱 learned about the new additive manufacturing and design master’s degree program offered by Penn State, he signed up immediately and was able to complete it while working full-time and managing his own ventures.
他还从运行固体力学中学到了另一个重要的管理经验.
他解释说:“3D打印不是简单的按‘打印’. “例如, 从历史上看, 零件在整个制造过程中进行跟踪，以确保高质量和工艺. 然而，这种做法很难纳入到3D打印过程中.”
So, 辛克莱说, he essentially used 固体力学 to assess the problems of 3 d打印技术 and find ways for industry to address them.
"We’ve spent the last year-and-a-half discerning how best to design and build a 3D printer specifically meant to make the process more intuitive. 正是这种努力造就了螳螂。”辛克莱说.
3D打印真的很容易吗? 可以——问问这位作者就知道了, 是谁第一次在螳螂号上做的, 成功生产了一种相当普通但功能强大的牙膏挤管器.
为了观看螳螂3D打印机的运行， 观看这个简短的YouTube视频. 有关螳螂3D打印机的更多信息，请访问 mantis3dprinter.com.
